Craig Morgan is set to embark on the "Not Alone" tour, his ninth visit to perform for U.S. troops stationed overseas.

Morgan will play for service members stationed in Iraq and Kuwait from Jan. 27 through Feb. 3.

"In addition to showing our support for the service men and women deployed, I find a growing sense of pride in the good our country does while on these visits," Morgan said in a statement. "We are not just fighting a war and helping people gain democracy and human rights in their own country, but our military is over there building hospitals and schools. ... modern structures and plumbing that didn't exist before 9/11."

Morgan himself spent more than a decade in the Army, and additional years in the Army Reserves.

With one season of Craig Morgan: All Access Outdoors under his belt, the country singer can call his lifestyle and hunting show a success.

The first season of All Access Outdoors has become the Outdoor Channel’s No. 1 rated hunting show on Saturday mornings.

The series, which airs at 10 a.m. Saturdays on the network, chronicles Morgan’s adventures as he travels the country hunting wild game with guest celebrities and friends. Season two of Craig Morgan: All Access Outdoors debuts in June.

Trace Adkins and Craig Morgan are giving a concert to honor community volunteers from the May floods, and we're giving away tickets.

As part of the grand reopening festivities for Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, Gaylord is hosting the Greater Together Benefit Concert. Adkins headlines, with Morgan opening. The concert is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, in the Delta Ballroom at the hotel.

Josh Kelley — you know, accomplished pop singer, married to actress Katherine Heigl, brother of Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley — now has a song of his own, “Georgia Clay,” on country radio.

And Friday night he’ll go through another major rite of passage in country music: Kelley is making his Grand Ole Opry debut. He’s a little excited.

“I can’t believe it,” said Kelley, who is signed to UMG Nashville. “I’m nervous — and I usually don’t get very nervous, but am for that because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. I just didn’t know it would happen this sudden.”

The singer plans to play three songs on the Opry stage, including a song he wrote for his toddler daughter Naleigh entitled “Naleigh Moon.”

“I’m ready to show all those people what I’ve got and the caliber of these songs and tell these little stories,” he said. “I know it’s going to be quick, but it should be a lot of fun.”

Garth Brooks will take part in a flood relief concert on December 17 at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, the country star announced at a Thursday morning press conference in Nashville. It's set to be Brooks' only arena concert this year, and his first in Nashville since 1998.

Brooks' wife, fellow country star Trisha Yearwood, was on hand at the press conference, and will also perform at the concert. More detail about other performers is expected, but at the press conference Brooks said “We’re going to use all the help we can get” when it comes to special guests.

"We’re following in the footsteps of a lot of artists who came out and did their thing," Brooks said Thursday. "Now we’re just trying to continue the example that they have set, as well as trying to continue the example of the citizens of this state."

The reason for "such a big announcement," Brooks said, was to make a plea to his fans around the world to visit Nashville for the occasion.

“If (visiting Nashville is on) a bucket list for you, this is the time to do it," he said. "Come here, because our job is to show everyone that Nashville is not only up and running, it’s better than it’s ever been.”

"Greater Together 2010" will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort, and tickets for the concert are on sale now, exclusively through the websites of the Nashville Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, Second Harvest Food Bank and Hands On Nashville, with all proceeds going to each of the organizations. (At a Wednesday press conference in Nashville announcing the event, organizers explained that whichever website is used for a ticket purchase receives those proceeds. If you have a particular favorite among the three, be sure to purchase tickets at their site.)

"When all those volunteers marched out into the streets of Nashville to help put this city back together again, I've never been more proud to call this place home," Adkins said in a release. "We're going to do what we can to say 'thank you' to the volunteers and organizations who answered the call to help their neighbors out after the flood. That's just the Nashville way, and it's worth celebrating."

Gaylord will be providing 500 free tickets to each of the three organizations. And to top it all off, they'll be providing free parking and free food to all, including "hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos and soft drinks." (Free nachos, people! Don't miss out.)

During an evening that celebrated songs spanning genres, styles and centuries, Pat Alger, Steve Cropper, Paul Davis and Stephen Foster became the latest inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

“If there was a way to calculate the emotional effect their songs have had on our lives, it would blow our minds,” said Roger Murrah, the chairman of the Songwriters Hall.

Murrah presided over Sunday’s 40th annual Hall of Fame Dinner & Induction Ceremony, which brought a room full of music dignitaries including Cropper, Alger, Garth Brooks, Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Anderson and Taylor Swift to the Renaissance Nashville Hotel to honor and be honored.

Foster, whose self-penned songs of the 1800s include “Oh! Susanna,” “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Camptown Races” and “Hard Times Come Again No More,” has been called the father of American music.Continue reading →

Contemporary Christian trio Point of Grace won the entertainer of the year prize at Thursday night’s 16th annual Inspirational Country Music Award show, held at Trinity Music City USA Auditorium.

Two contemporary country performers, Carrie Underwood and Craig Morgan, also notched wins at the show: Morgan’s “This Ain’t Nothin’” won the mainstream inspirational song award and he was named top mainstream country artist, while Underwood’s “Temporary Home” video — directed by Deaton Flanigen Productions — was named best inspirational video.

Storme Warren of the Great American Country network and Megan Alexander of syndicated television news show Inside Edition served as hosts for the show, which is intended to recognize artists who perform uplifting country music. Other major category winners included Tommy Brandt (male vocalist), Mary James (female vocalist), Dennis Agajanian (his seventh top musician award) and CrossCountry The Band (vocal group).

The event’s cast of performers included Ricky Skaggs, who won the inspirational bluegrass race, along with Jeff Bates, Sarah Darling, Katrina Elam and many others. The 2010 ICM Awards will air at a later date on the DayStar Television Network.

Click to see a gallery of photos from the re-opening of the Grand Ole Opry House on Sept. 28, 2010 (this image: Larry McCormack/The Tennessean).

Much of Nashville was under water five months ago, the city struggling to survive a flood that killed 10 people and caused billions of dollars in damage. At the Grand Ole Opry House, 46 inches of river water slowly seeped into the wooden stage. It was destroyed, along with the pews, curtains, floor and walls — though the staff was able to salvage the historic six-foot circle that was cut from the Ryman stage and placed into the Opry House’s when it opened in 1974.

As Nashville preserved and rebuilt in the wake of the flood, so did the Opry House.

“To be invited back is such a relief to me,” said actor and singer Costner, who first performed with his band on the Opry in November of 2008. “It kind of completed the circle for us.”Continue reading →